Top 10 Stories From The Wildlife Society in 2015

By Joshua Rapp Learn

What’s happening with the last golden-winged warbler in Georgia? Or the first hellbender seen in years in Alabama? Are there mountain lions in the Adirondacks?

These are just a few of the stories covered by The Wildlife Society over the past year — the first full year our new website has been up and running. Web traffic has increased greatly since the beginning of 2015. To bring a great year to a close, we decided to bring back a list of our favorite web stories from 2015.

The Call of the Last Golden-Winged Warbler in Georgia

Two years after the last golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) was seen in Georgia, state wildlife workers made a wonderful discovery. Read more here.

Using High-Res GPS to Study Thailand’s Flying Foxes

Habitat conservation and educating the public may be the best thing to help conserve Lyle’s flying fox (Pteropus lylei) populations that hang out in Buddhist temples in Thailand. Read more here.

Cat Disease Detected in Minks and Muskrats

A disease commonly found in cats is spreading to other wildlife more easily through water drainage due to shrinking wetlands. Read more here.

Hot on the Alabama Trail of the Elusive Hellbender

Researchers tested waterways for DNA and searched under rocks across Alabama to find the first confirmed hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) in the state for over 30 years. Read more here.

Mountain Lions Not Just a Tall Tale in Adirondacks

The less people know about mountain lions (Puma concolor) in New York State, the more they fear them. Read more here.

Wild Cam Series: Serengeti Wildlife

A massive camera trap project gets up close and personal with giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis), lions (Panthera leo), cheetahs(Acinonyx jubatus), hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) and other animals, and reveals how predators and prey interact with each other. Read more here.

Delmarva Fox Squirrel Removed from Endangered Species List

One of the first subspecies ever listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through their Endangered Species Act was delisted this year due in part to a successful reintroduction effort. Read more here.

Nation-Wide Efforts Expanding to Protect Monarch Butterflies

Citizen scientists, federal and state agencies and conservation groups come together in creative ways to help protect monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and their massive range. Read more here.

Fish and Wildlife Service Expands Hunting and Fishing on Refuges

Grab your rods and rifles! USFWS introduced new opportunities for fishing and hunting across many of the wildlife refuges in the country. Read more here.

Fire Borrowing Negatively Impacts Wildlife Programs

The large amount of money that USFWS needs to fight increasing wildfires in California has resulted in the agency coming up short when investing in wildlife programs. Read more here.

Did we miss something? Tweet your favorite story to The Wildlife Society (@wildlifesociety).

Joshua Rapp Learn is a science writer at The Wildlife Society. Contact him at jlearn@wildlife.org with any questions or comments about his article.